


Unwanted Conversations

by Eye_Greater_Than_Three



Series: The Heart of a Good Man [7]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Cheating, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/F, F/M, Femslash, Het, Infidelity, Mentions of Neglectful Dursleys, Mentions of Slash, Mentions of Unfavorable Weasleys, Mild Charlie Weasley Bashing, Pregnancy, female!Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-13
Updated: 2014-11-13
Packaged: 2018-02-25 04:58:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2609387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eye_Greater_Than_Three/pseuds/Eye_Greater_Than_Three
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While shopping with Steve, Heidi ran into two old friends, and it brings up an unwanted conversation about her divorce.</p><p>(Slash and femslash aren't graphic, really just mentions.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unwanted Conversations

**Author's Note:**

> The add tags of "slash" (m/m) and "femslash" (f/f) are there so you (as a reader) know what to expect. In this series, both will be non-graphic -- the most "graphic" it'll be is handholding and kissing.

Heidi Potter smiled and leaned into Steve's side as they walked around the mall. She was finally getting around to shopping for maternity clothes. Andromeda had picked her up a few shirts the other day, but Heidi needed a few more things, like pants.When Steve found out she was planning to go shopping for maternity clothes, he decided to tag along.

So far, Heidi purchased a few things – a couple pairs of pants, two pairs of shoes, two dresses, and a few shirts. While the shoes weren't maternity clothing items, Heidi had fallen in love at first sight. After growing up the Dursleys and getting Dudley's _old shoes_ , Heidi had developed a habit of spoiling herself with shoes. Steve smiled and insisted on carrying the bags the whole time. Heidi was happy to let him. This was a new experience for her.

Shopping with Steve was _way_ better than shopping with Charlie. Steve insisted on carrying on the bags and asking what she wanted while Charlie would guilt her into leaving early. With Charlie, it didn't matter what they were shopping for – Jamie, Teddy, herself, gifts for his siblings, Christmas with the family – he would force her to finish early or he would leave her to finish by herself.

Heidi sighed and forced herself to stop thinking about her ex-husband. That relationship was over, and she wanted to focus on her future with Steve. The more Steve was around, the more she knew he wanted to be around for the long haul.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked, looking concerned.

Heidi smiled and felt something bloom in her chest. “I'm a little cold, and I think I want that cardigan,” she lied. She didn't want Steve to know she was thinking about her ex-husband. They would have the conversation about exes in the near future, and she wanted to put it off as long as possible – like the conversation about magic. Someone – probably Teddy or Jamie – was likely to perform accidental magic around Steve, after they met, and Heidi would explain it then.

Steve pulled a navy blue cardigan out of a bag, and handed it to her. With a smile, Heidi pulled the cardigan on over her grey tank top. The pair resumed shopping. Heidi found a few dressy items for professional events, like meeting with her advisor or dinner with donors.

She was happy to stop for lunch. They went to a Thai place in the mall because Heidi was craving Thai ice tea and something spicy while Steve had never had Thai food before. Heidi knew _that feeling_. When she lived with the Dursleys, there were plenty of things she didn't get to try, like pizza or cheeseburgers. At the Thai place, Heidi ordered the spiciest red curry with extra pineapple, onion, and peanut sauce and the ice tea she wanted, while Steve ordered a simple fried rice and a water. Lunch passed with a little conversation.

“When can I meet Teddy and Jamie?” Steve asked during a gap in conversation.

Heidi looked up at him with her eyes wide and her mouth full. She swallowed – after growing up with Ron and his eating habits, Heidi made time and effort for manners. “I haven't really thought about it,” she admitting, setting her fork down. “I figured you want meet before she's,” she gestured to her stomach, “born, but not much beyond that. When do you want to meet them?” she asked, taking a sup of her iced tea.

“Soon,” he replied. “How about dinner at your place next weekend?” he suggested.

Heidi smiled. “I'll make pizza,” she promised.

The couple stared at each other, each smiling as they shared a moment.

“Heidi! I _knew_ it was you!” declared someone near them. It was a voice Heidi recognized from Hogwarts, and she remembered who it belonged to.

Forcing a smile, Heidi turned and saw Lavender Brown standing near her. “Hey Lav,” she greeted her old roommate.

“I'm _so_ sorry to hear about your divorce,” Lavender said, taking a seat next to Heidi without asking or being invited. “I _always_ thought there was something weird about Charlie Weasley. While he attended Hogwarts, he didn't have _a single girlfriend_ – that was an indicator something wrong right there,” she babbled.

Heidi's smile grew more forced by the second. “Lavender,” she said, trying to be gentle. She knew Lavender meant well, but this wasn't going well.

Lavender stopped talking and looked at Heidi.

“I'm on a _date_ ,” she said, gesturing towards Steve.

Lavender followed her hand and her brown eyes widened. Had she just ruined her old friend's date? Heidi deserved love and happiness, and Lavender didn't want to ruin the latest chance for her friend.

“This is Steve Rogers,” Heidi explained, trying to polite, “and this is Lavender Brown, my old friend from school.”

“Hello,” Lavender said, leaning forward to shake Steve's hand. Turning back to Heidi, she whispered, “He's _hot_.”

Heidi smiled, a little more really this time. “I know.”

“Before I disappear,” Lavender said, picking on the hint she wasn't wanted at the moment, “I know someone who wants to see you.”

Heidi nodded, figuring it was another old classmate from Hogwarts.

Lavender beamed. “I'll be right back,” she declared, hopping up.

Steve and Heidi found themselves sitting in a relatively awkward silence.

“Charlie?” Steve asked, hesitantly. He had a feeling he knew who that was.

“The ex-husband,” Heidi confirmed, “Charlie Weasley.”

Steve looked like he wanted to say something else, but Lavender returned, which Heidi was happy to see. Lavender returned with Katie Bell – a _very pregnant_ Katie Bell.

“Katie!” Heidi said with a smile, sliding out of the booth and onto her feet. Both Lavender's and Katie's eyes fell onto her stomach. “It's so good to see you again!”

Katie pulled Heidi into a hug and smile back. The hug was rather awkward since they were pregnant. Pulling back form the hug, Heidi returned to her seat.

“Katie, this is Steve Rogers,” Heidi said, before either female could comment on her pregnancy. “Steve, this is Katie Bell, another old friend.”

They shook hands.

“How far along are you?” Heidi asked. She would guess Katie was in her mid to late third trimester.

“Eight months,” Katie replied with a smile. “We're excited,” she added, grabbing Lavender's hand.

Heidi looked from Lavender to Katie with widen eyes. Back in Hogwarts, Lavender slept with most of the guys in Gryffindor, and Heidi knew Katie had a crush on Angeline Johnson. Stranger things had happened, and Heidi was happy for her two old friends.

“That's amazing,” she told them. It was. Both of them deserved to be happy, and they found it with one another.

Both Lavender and Katie beamed at her. “What about you, how far along are you?” Lavender asked.

“Twenty-one weeks,” Steve answered for her.

Heidi glanced over him, smiling softly and blushing.

“It was great seeing you,” Katie said with a wave.

“We'll send you a letter or something,” Lavender added before they walked off.

Heidi hoped they wouldn't tell anyone about this meeting. Back in England, only Charlie knew she was pregnant, and she wanted to keep it that way. It didn't take a genius to figure out Charlie _probably_ was the father of her unborn child, but Heidi wouldn't put it passed people – mainly her former in-laws – to believe Steve was the father.

“You ready to go?” Heidi asked, signaling for the waiter.

“Yeah,” Steve agreed. Lunch had turned a little awkward at the mention of Charlie Weasley and Heidi's divorce.

They took the rest of their food to go, and they went back to wondering the mall. After another thirty minutes, Heidi was ready to leave. They walked out to Steve's Honda Civic. While Steve put the bags in the truck, Heidi climbed into the passenger's seat. Steve took his seat, and they were driving back to Manhattan and their building a few minutes later.

“Why did you and Charlie get divorced?” he asked, glancing at Heidi from the corner of his eyes.

Heidi sighed. “He's gay,” she answered. For as long as they were dating, Charlie was dating Oliver Wood. She didn't know _why_ Charlie chose to hide and lie to her – and everyone – about it. She asked, and she felt she was entitled to know, but Charlie didn't say anything.

“He cheated on me,” she explained, “and I only found out when I walked in on them.” _That_ was a lie. It was front-page news in _The Daily Prophet_ , but she couldn't tell Steve that.

“I tried to work on our marriage,” she continued to explain, “but Charlie didn't want to. He wanted to be with Oliver, but maintain our marriage. I decided I deserve better than a cheating husband, and I filed for divorce. I _demanded_ Jamie, and Charlie signed all the forms for a pile of money. He even signed away his rights to our unborn child.”

No one outside of her, Charlie, Oliver Wood, Andromeda, the lawyers, the judge, and Gringotts knew what happened in the divorced, and everyone was sworn to secrecy. But _every_ paper had a story and a number of people had “the” story to tell. Most of the stories painted Heidi as the bad guy because she drove Charlie to cheat.

Heidi crossed her arms and looked out the window. Tears slid down her face. Despite Charlie's infidelity, it was _all her fault_ they were divorced _and_ Charlie _had to_ cheat. Heidi knew that wasn't true, but it didn't mean she believed it any less.

She barely noticed when Steve parked the car, and placed a hand on her shoulder. He squeezed her shoulder, drawing her attention.

“You _do_ deserve better,” he whispered.

Heidi blinked away a few tears before leaning forward and kissing Steve.

It didn't matter how much she told herself that, and Andromeda told her, she still had trouble believing it. That was probably rooted in her self-esteem issues from the Dursleys. When Steve said, she believed him. That was how she knew she would be alright.

 


End file.
